Gary Brassuel, age 49, is being denied parole for the second time after he was found guilty of murdering a 67 year old man
VISALIA – After 26 years in prison, the Tulare County District Attorney’s Office successfully lobbied the state’s parole board to deny Gary Brassuel’s second request for parole.
On May 15, prosecutors for the district attorney’s office participated in a virtual parole hearing for Gary Brassuel. Prosecutors managed to secure a 3-year denial of parole for Brassuel’s 26 years-to-life sentence in state prison for abusing and murdering a 67-year-old man.
According to a press release from the district attorney’s office, during the 1990’s, despite strong disagreement from the victim’s family, Brassuel sometimes stayed with the victim at his Exeter residence. On June 16, 1995 a family member who would often check-in on him and deliver groceries, discovered the victim in a chair covered with a sheet and his cane across his lap.
During questioning Brassuel admitted to getting into an argument with the victim, who had allegedly hit him with a cane. Brassuel stated that he grabbed the cane and beat the victim, which caused bruising, lacerations, two broken ribs, a broken breastbone and broken dentures. Realizing the victim was severely injured and not wanting to get into trouble, Brassuel got a rope and strangled the victim “to put him out of his misery.”
In October of 1997, Brassuel was found guilty of first-degree murder with use of a deadly weapon and was sentenced to 26 years-to-life in state prison.
This was Brassuel’s second parole hearing. The district attorney’s office routinely attends parole hearings and a deputy district attorney argued against the inmate’s release in this case.
